Libyan activist Abdelsalam al-Mismari dies in Benghazi killings

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

Activist Abdelsalam al-Mismari was killed as he left a mosque after Friday prayers, officials said.

A retired air force colonel and a senior police officer were also killed in separate attacks.
...
Mr Mismari, a lawyer, was one of the earliest organisers of protests that eventually led to the overthrow of dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi.

He later became a critic of the armed groups that helped to topple Gaddafi but which have since refused to lay down their weapons.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23474410

[Turbineguy]

1. Waiting for

Darrel Issa to start a new investigation.

[freshwest]

3. Except Hillary's not there. Wonder if he's got guts enough to take on Kerry...

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Libyans ransack offices after killings

THOUSANDS of Libyans have protested against parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, blamed for a wave of violence a day after a series of deadly attacks in the Libya's east.

Protesters ransacked offices of both the Brotherhood's political wing the Party of Justice and Construction (PJC) and its liberal rival the Alliance of National Forces (NFA) on Saturday.

In Benghazi, youths stormed and ransacked the building housing the PJC, after hundreds took to the streets overnight to denounce the assassination of Abdessalem al-Mesmari, an anti-Islamist lawyer who campaigned for a civil state.

The demonstrators accuse the Brotherhood of being behind killings that have targeted dozens of officers, especially in Benghazi, the cradle of the 2011 armed uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/libyans-ransack-offices-after-killings/story-fni0xqll-1226686888735

[leveymg]

4. The new Libya and Syria. Why no Nobel Peace Prizes for Hillary, Petraeus, and Obama?

These fledgling democracies thank you for caring.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. "Massive Jail Break near Benghazi, Libya, Lets More Than 1,000 Inmates Free"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57595817/massive-jailbreak-near-benghazi-libya-lets-more-than-1000-inmates-free/

TRIPOLI, LIBYA More than 1,000 detainees escaped from a prison near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in a massive jailbreak Saturday, officials said, as protesters stormed political party offices in Libya's main cities.

It wasn't immediately clear if the jailbreak at the Koyfiya prison came as part of the demonstrations. Protesters had massed across the country angry over the killing of an activist critical of the country's Muslim Brotherhood group.

Gunmen outside of the prison fired into the air as inmates inside began setting fires, suggesting the jailbreak was preplanned, a Benghazi-based security official said. Those who escaped either face or were convicted of serious charges, a security official at Koyfiya prison said.

<snip>

Meanwhile Saturday, hundreds gathered in the capital Tripoli after dawn prayers, denouncing the Friday shooting death of Abdul-Salam Al-Musmari. They set fire to tires in the street and demanded the dissolution of Islamist parties. The two incidents highlighted Libya's precarious security situation and the challenges the North African country faces as it tries to restore security nearly two years after the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

[leveymg]

6. Follows the same in Iraq. Classic insurgency tactics.

What was the Clinton-Petraeus goal of destabization and "humanitarian interventon", other than this outcome of regional Jihadi war? Why did they imagine that once stable, established secular regimes were overthrown, that the Islamicists wouldn't try to take over? If that was not the goal, why did they get it so wrong?

I think the common element in all of this is the role of Saudi Arabia/GCC states in funding and organizing the Salaafists in each of these countries, and that the Administration has done less than nothing to contain that. Meanwhile, the Israelis and necons are cheering this on, as the Sunni v Shi'ia war is Arabs killing Arabs, and Arabs killing Persians, which they think divides both and weakens Iran. The multinational energy companies are on board with this, because it adds a sizable risk premium to the cost of their product.

What are we to conclude from this, other than key US and western policymakers and corporations are setting the flaming, sinking boat on fire and we, the passengers, are stuck with no lifeboats, except for First Class who have already safely made their way to cruise ships that are steaming away?